It’s a very romantic sentiment, but to think that you would die if you didn’t write, well, I would definitely choose to not write and live.

McLachlan pushes back against the romanticized myth of the artist who must create or perish. By calling the idea “romantic,” she frames it as a culturally appealing story rather than a practical truth. Her blunt preference—choosing life over writing—reasserts ordinary human priorities (health, survival, relationships) over artistic compulsion, and implicitly critiques a creative culture that equates authenticity with suffering or self-destruction. The remark also suggests a healthier model of artistry: writing as a chosen practice and vocation, not an existential ultimatum. In that sense, the quote demystifies creativity and resists turning art into a moral or biological necessity.